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Virtually Together

Posted by eph21920 on December 25, 2019 in Connected, Family, Life, Travel

This Christmas was a little smaller and quieter than those in the past few years. One of my brothers’ was staying in a warmer location and the other one was sick and didn’t come here as he usually does. My nephew and his girlfriend were also unable to be here on this day. So, we were able to video chat all of them at the same time for our festivities. Everyone but my son on the east coast was able to be virtually present. We opened presents together and played a white elephant game which was a little challenging, but in my opinion it added to the fun. Technology really helps us be together when we can’t be physically in the same place.

I Found God today enjoying the ability to virtually be with those far away.

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Various People

Posted by eph21920 on December 24, 2019 in New, Stranger

My parents and I went to Christmas Eve Mass at 6:00 pm and one of my sister’s met us there. The family that sat in front of us was too cute. My dad struck up a couple of conversations with the husband who proudly introduced his family and foreign exchange student. They had 5 children, just like my parents did. During the sign of peace, the little boy who was the youngest was being held by his dad and just beaming. My dad told him he had a very nice smile. The little boy replied that he really liked to smile. That made all of us smile as well. Next to us was a woman who we would see on a regular basis. She had her grandson with her who she was eager to introduce. Behind us was a woman who belted out the Christmas carols for all to hear, and not necessarily on key. After Mass, my sister and I realized we were both thinking the same thing – she must really love singing those songs and was very much enjoying herself. It’s always enlightening attending Christmas Mass and being around people other than the “regulars”. It brings all kinds of different people together, all to celebrate the occasion of the birth of Jesus – when God came to us, for us.

I Found God today in various ways in new people.

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Didn’t Make It

Posted by eph21920 on December 23, 2019 in Answer, Family, Sick, Travel

My brother called this morning to say that some of his symptoms acted up and he was feeling pretty bad. Unfortunately, it would not be good for him to travel. So, sadly, he cancelled his flight. We will really miss him for Christmas. But, it seems that once again God knew what He was doing, even though it wasn’t necessarily what we all wanted. We were happy that my brother was home taking good care of himself. And because the airline made it impossible for him to catch his flight yesterday, he received a full refund on the ticket. We will see him in a few months.

I Found God today taking care of my brother.

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Not Today

Posted by eph21920 on December 22, 2019 in Answer, Family, Prayer

My brother was due to fly in tonight for his Christmas visit. However, he wasn’t feeling great and with my dad not completely well yet, we debated and discussed whether it would be a good idea to come or wait another day or so. He even called the airlines to find out his options. I suggested he take a few minutes in quiet prayer and see what he felt would be the best choice. He was still waffling but decided to come. About half an hour later, he called and told me his flight was delayed meaning he would miss his connection. Prayers answered. He will come tomorrow.

I Found God today in a definitive answer.

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No Scrooge Here

Posted by eph21920 on December 21, 2019 in Answer, Family, Grateful, Healing, Life, Past, Sick

My dad has had a cold – or something – for the last 2 weeks. It started with a cough, went to his head which cleared up, but the cough lingered. The other night he was up coughing most of the time. So yesterday, we called his doctor and spoke to the nurse who suggested we go to an emergicare. I called ahead so they were all ready to see him when we arrived. The doctor, “Bob” said my dad had the same crud that most of the city has. He prescribed an inhaler and another medication to help calm the inflammation in his bronchial tubes, and all but guaranteed my dad would be sleeping better and coughing less . We were in and out in no time. Sure enough, “Bob” was right. My dad did sleep much better last night. We were all very happy he is feeling a little better.

Tonight we watched “A Christmas Carol”. There are so many versions available, it was difficult to decide which one. My dad wanted to see the one that was closest to the original story. We chose wisely. Not too far in to the movie, Scrooge’s nephew paid him a visit. My dad played that part in a school play about 78 years ago. He wanted to play the part of Scrooge, but his friend was chosen instead. My dad said he remembered saying some of the same exact lines. He enjoyed the movie and reminiscing very much.

I Found God today in a favorable diagnosis and result.

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Oops Moments

Posted by eph21920 on December 19, 2019 in Answer, Grateful, Humor, Life, Problem

As you may be able to imagine, there are many “oops moments” here, with my parents being 87 and 89 and me running around trying to take care of things. For some reason, I was keenly aware of them today. Perhaps it was because my daughter-in-law shared a couple of her own “oops moments” this morning. One of my big ones was this morning at the laundromat. I brought in 3 big comforters to wash and dry in their giant machines. Once they were finished, they were too big for me to fold by myself and I felt awkward asking a stranger there to help me. So, I packed them into one of the rolling baskets that they have and rolled it out onto the sidewalk in front of the car. As I unloaded the first one into the trunk, I heard a crashing sound and was afraid to look. Sure enough, the cart had rolled off the curb and the nice clean comforters were spilling into the parking lot – into the melting ice that was turning into a grey slushy mess. I gathered them up and couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony. When I got them home, there was really only one bad spot on one comforter, so it could have been worse. There were a couple other “oops moments” during the day – some laughable, some not. But at the end of the day, we’re all still here, home, safe, and turning in for the night, and for that I am grateful. As my son said to his wife, In the long run, that doesn’t matter. It’ll be OK.

I Found God today not getting upset over “oops moments”.

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Disease Reminder

Posted by eph21920 on December 18, 2019 in Children, Healing, Life, Past, Sick

Tonight on the news, there was a story of a dance company that chose a couple of girls to be in their performance of The Nutcracker. The thing that was unique about the girls is that they had degenerative diseases and spent much of their time in hospitals or doctor’s appointments. One of them had arthritis. As her mother spoke of the illness and treatments that the girl endured, it brought me right back to the time when I also struggled with the disease. When I saw the girl move, it was like looking at myself at her age. When she talked about her experience with the dancers, she said she would like to open a studio like that some day so that others don’t have to feel like they are not important. She said she felt like that a lot, but not now that she’s dancing. Now she felt like she was important. I remember feeling the same way and that it took a long time to find a place where I belonged and people who accepted me for who I was. For me, the disease went into “remission” which I attribute to Our Lady of Lourdes. The story was a reminder of what I went through and what God has done for me. As I pray for the girl and her family, I wonder if there is anything else I would be able to do to help her.

I Found God today remembering how He has blessed me.

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Spot Disappeared

Posted by eph21920 on December 17, 2019 in Doctor, Faith, Friends, Grateful, Healing, Miracle

Tonight I had dinner with friends and was happy to see a mom who has been struggling. She had a large cancer spot removed off the top of her head, then one behind her ear. To top it off, she recently got shingles. After she told me all about it, she said she was thankful for healing and that she isn’t worse off. Then she said that they found another spot on the top of her head near the large incision that has healed. She started putting her Lourdes Holy Water on it every day. The next time she went to the doctor, they couldn’t find the spot and haven’t been able to find it since. I love her faith and her attitude.

I Found God today in a miraculous spot disappearance.

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Do Your Part

Posted by eph21920 on December 16, 2019 in Advent, Answer, Connected, Faith, Hope, Life, Opportunity, Struggles

Tonight in Bible class, the teacher told a great story that shows how God is present right here and now. The other day she was working on her computer and a friend came to mind. She felt she should send her a note, but she felt she didn’t have time and tried to talk herself out of it. However, she followed through on the prompting. She dropped a quick message to her friend saying that God loves her and so does she. The friend called immediately. My teacher did not know that her friend’s marriage was collapsing. The friend was just sobbing and asked God if He were there, she really needed to know that He still loved her. Then she received the message from my teacher. The story reminded me of a video I watched this morning. Matthew Kelly talked about the necessity of each one of us doing our small part. We can feel overwhelmed by the problems of the world, or even our lives. But we can do our small part. That will make an enormous difference.

I Found God today in a story of following God’s promptings and doing our small part.

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Rejoicing in Healing

Posted by eph21920 on December 15, 2019 in Advent, Faith, Friends, Healing, Joy, Life, Sick

A friend of mine has been battling a vicious cancer over the past few months. When the tumor was found, he had surgery to remove his bladder and prostate. Once recovered, he and his wife made many trips until they could no longer. A doctor’s visit revealed many tumors had grown in his body. One in particular was on his hip and causing a great deal of pain. He started a course of radiation and immunotherapy. He had trouble eating and continued to lose weight. Only recently has he been able to reverse that issue. In a recent doctor’s visit, they were told that their analysis showed his type of tumor was not one that would respond to immunotherapy. However, in the next sentence, the doctor said the tumor on his hip was gone as was another that was blocking a kidney. The overall amount and size of tumors has greatly diminished. It was such good news. My friend and his wife are very faithful people. I have been blessed to be present during an anointing and at a Mass in their home. I gave them a bottle of Lourdes water and we pray for them every night. We are all rejoicing on this Gaudete Sunday. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.”

I Found God today in great news of a friend’s healing.

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